Cabot Picnic draws thousands

Cabot Oil & Gas served up hamburgers, hotdogs, barbecue and brisket at the company’s second annual family picnic in Harford. STAFF PHOTO/ROBERT BAKER

BY STACI WILSON

Thousands of people flocked to the second annual picnic hosted by Cabot Oil & Gas on Saturday.

The turnout at the Harford Fairgrounds seemed to surpass the estimated 4,000 that attended last year’s event in Montrose, Cabot spokesman George Stark said.

“It a great turnout. We’re very proud to be able to bring this outreach and education to a larger number of people. That’s our goal,” he said.

Bob and Ellie Darrow, of Franklin Township,

Among the many vendors sharing outdoor education responsibility with Cabot Saturday was the Quality Deer Management Association which recommended certain types of ground cover for those reclaiming land disturbed by gas wells or pipelines. STAFF PHOTO/ROBERT BAKER

Susquehanna County, said they came out to the picnic to see the equipment and learn a little bit more about the whole process.

Mrs. Darrow said, “It’s nice to know what they are doing from the beginning to the end.”

The natural gas company recently began drilling in the Harford area, Stark said.

A well is in the process of going on a property located near theMountain Viewcampus in Kingsley. The district, according to Stark, has 97 acres leased with the company which are expected to be in production by the end of the year.

Stark said Cabot was focusing this year on the company’s environmental protection efforts, specifically regarding water.

“A lot of people are surprised when we talk about 100 percent recycling of water and wonder how we do that. So we brought the professionals to show how it is done,” Stark said.

The company that handles that for Cabot in the area is ComTech Industries and CEO Terry Bricker was on-hand to explain the way frack and drill mud water is treated.

Bricker said the company’s goal is 100 percent reuse of all the water used in the fracking process. The amount of water that comes back up varies in each well, he said.

ComTech is a mobile system that goes to the drill sites. “The water is collected and brought to us rather than to wastewater treatment facilities,” Bricker said.

Chemical tests are run at least once per hour, Bricker said. A protocol for treatment to get the water into condition for reuse is then established.

Bricker said that not only does the closed loop system of on-site recycling reduce the amount of water that needs to be taken from streams and rivers; it also has a big impact on road traffic.

A plane flew over the Harford Fairgrounds reminding picnickers that not everyone in Dimock had good clean water. STAFF PHOTO/ROBERT BAKER

Unlike last year’s event, no protestors were situated near the entrance to the grounds with murky water on display.

The only protest was in the sky as a plane occasionally flew by with a “Fix Dimock’s Water” banner behind it.